


I Just Don't Wanna Miss You Tonight

by Impossibly_Izzy



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Content warning for referenced gun violence/referenced injury and death, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by S05 E20 Show Me Going, M/M, The Squad, based on a tumblr prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-03-06
Packaged: 2019-11-13 02:34:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18023147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Impossibly_Izzy/pseuds/Impossibly_Izzy
Summary: ‘There’s an active shooter in a hotel in Brooklyn Heights,’ said Holt. ‘Multiple casualties. Officers are currently responding to the scene.’Everyone was silent, almost holding their breath, listening to a string of names and badge numbers from the radio.And then, ‘Peralta. Show me going.’





	I Just Don't Wanna Miss You Tonight

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to the tumblr anon who requested this - I saw the ask and was like oooooh that's good! I haven't written any angst or even proper drama in A While so hopefully it's good, and hopefully I didn't inadvertently make light of anything.  
> This fic is mostly fluffy, but obviously I would not blame anyone for avoiding this kind of thing if it's triggering/ upsetting for them. I have a bunch of cheerful fluff fics if that's more what you're after XD  
> Izzy

Charles should have known that something bad was happening the moment he noticed Jake wasn’t there.

As it was, he just got on with his work, and Jake texted him a few minutes later to say that he was working a case a few blocks away, and to save him food if anyone brought some in. That was at nine-thirty, and by twelve Jake still wasn’t back, and Charles walked into the break room to find the rest of the squad gathered around a radio.

Everyone looked tense, eyes fixed on the radio.

‘What’s going on?’ Charles said.

‘There’s an active shooter in a hotel in Brooklyn Heights,’ said Holt. ‘Multiple casualties. Officers are currently responding to the scene.’

Everyone was silent, almost holding their breath, listening to a string of names and badge numbers from the radio.

And then, ‘Peralta. Show me going.’

Charles’ body turned cold, his breath catching in his throat.

No. _No_. This couldn’t be happening.

Charles was no stranger to life-threatening situations. A few years ago, he had thrown himself in front of a bullet to protect Rosa, knowing he would have done it for any of his coworkers.

But this time it was Jake, and Charles wasn’t there to save him.

In a job like this, you experienced enough life-threatening situations that you almost got used to them. It never stopped being awful, but it was part of the job, part of what they’d trained for. Being in the police was about helping people, about making things better, and sometimes it took a life-threatening situation or two to make that happen.

But this was different. This was _Jake_. Jake by himself, without any of the squad there to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid and brave and end up getting hurt.

‘That was…’ Amy trailed off. She didn’t need to finish; everyone knew who it was.

There was a moment where everyone simply stared at the radio, and Charles wished Jake was here, because surely Jake would know what to say. And then he remembered what was happening, and he wished that Jake was here all over again.

Charles blinked back his tears, and then Rosa pulled him into a hug.

‘Hey, man,’ she said. ‘Jake’s gonna be fine. He’s smart, and he’s tough.’

Rosa’s jacket was soft, and her arms were tight around him.

‘Yeah,’ said Charles. ‘Yeah, I know.’ He fought back his tears.

Rosa released him, giving him an awkward pat on the shoulder that somehow still managed to be comforting.

‘I know all of you are worried about Jake,’ Holt said. ‘But we have been instructed to remain here. It is best you return to your work. I will let you know when updates are provided.’

But how was anyone supposed to work when something like _this_ was happening?

Rosa got into a fight with Holt over whether they should go against their orders and help Jake, which culminated in her kicking a printer and storming off downstairs to spend the day with Amy. Terry spent the day trying to reassure everyone, failing to look convinced by his own words. Gina bent her head and quietly got on with her work, which was so out of character for her that it could only have been out of desperate worry.

For his part, Charles dithered and fretted, sent Jake a dozen messages that he wouldn’t see until this whole thing was over, and ended up yelling at Hitchcock over some minor food-related issue. At one o’clock, Holt told everyone that two officers had been injured.

‘Unfortunately there is no news on who those officers were,’ he said. Charles thought he might start crying.

Someone ordered pizza, and Charles stared at it for a full ten minutes before accepting that he was too anxious to eat.

By two o’clock, a third officer had been injured.

By three, one of the injured officers had been confirmed dead.

It was almost four o’clock before the situation was officially over. And it should have been a relief, but there was still no word on which officers had been injured. It still felt like the whole precinct was holding its collective breath.

Everyone was gathered in silence – even Amy and Rosa had come back up from downstairs. They were waiting, without knowing whether it was for Jake to come back or for someone to call them with news.

‘I wish we could have been there with him,’ Amy was saying.

And then the ping of the elevator chimed, and everyone turned around to see Jake walking out of it.

Charles was the first one across the room. He threw his arms around Jake, needing to feel that he was _here,_ that he was _alive._

‘Woah,’ said Jake, hugging Charles back. ‘Hey, man.’

Jake felt so solidly real under Charles’ arms, and he smelt comfortingly familiar. And Charles pulled away just enough to meet his intense gaze, unwilling to let go.

‘It’s okay,’ said Jake. His hands were at Charles’ waist. ‘It’s okay.’

And then Charles leant in and kissed him. For a split second he wondered what on earth he was doing, but Jake kissed him back, his lips soft and gentle.

Jake pulled away, just barely, the side of his nose brushing against Charles’.

‘It’s okay,’ he murmured. ‘I’m here.’

‘That was… unexpected.’ Holt’s voice sounded like it was coming from a long way off.

Charles hooked his fingers around the collar of Jake’s jacket. He wasn’t ready to let go of him.

‘I was so worried about you,’ he said, loud enough for Jake and nobody else.

‘Charles…’ Jake’s voice was choked up.

Charles kissed him again, and again, drinking in the feeling of him and the taste of his mouth. When they finally broke apart, they were both breathless, and crying and smiling all at once.

‘Okay, Boyle, give the rest of us a chance,’ said Rosa, and Charles stepped away so that she could pull Jake into a crushing hug. And then Amy joined them on his other side, and Terry added himself to the quickly-growing group hug. Charles just stood there for a moment, watching as Jake laughed and pretended to complain.

After a while Holt stepped forward. ‘Peralta,’ he said. ‘I too am glad to see you safe.’ And the others let go of Jake so that Holt could shake his hand in a way that he somehow made look affectionate.

Charles almost felt like he had been forgotten, but then Jake said, ‘As much as I love you guys showering me in affection, I think me and Charles have some stuff to talk about.’

He took Charles’ hand, linking their fingers as though he did it every day, and led him across the room. And Charles just followed; he would have let Jake lead him anywhere. They ended up in the evidence lockup, in between the shelves and cabinets.

‘This was the only place I could think of where they wouldn’t bother us,’ said Jake. He was still holding Charles’ hand.

‘Are you okay?’ said Charles.

Jake bit his lip. ‘It was… intense. A lot of civilians to protect.’

‘Yeah.’ Charles squeezed Jake’s hand.

‘I was a total badass though,’ said Jake.

Charles smiled, even as his eyes prickled with tears once again. ‘I bet you were.’

‘I evacuated those civilians in a _really_ cool way,’ said Jake. And then, ‘Not to, like, take away from the situation, but… can I kiss you again?’

‘Yes,’ said Charles, and pressed his lips to Jake’s. And Jake kissed him softly and carefully, his fingers still gripping Charles’, and Charles wished he could live in this moment forever. He liked having Jake right here, pressed against him, where he knew he couldn’t get hurt. He liked Jake’s thumb brushing his cheekbone, Jake’s tongue moving cautiously against his own.

And, when Jake broke away, it was only to pull Charles into a hug. Charles had to fight to stop himself from crying again.

‘I don’t know what I would have done if…’ he mumbled into Jake’s shoulder.

Jake kissed the side of his neck. ‘I know. To be honest, I’m glad it was me in that situation, because I don’t think I could have handled it if it had been someone else. Especially you.’

When they finally went back to the others, they were holding hands. Charles saw people shooting them curious glances, but nobody asked about it. The questions would come, he was sure, but for now everyone was just happy that Jake was back safely.

Jake squeezed Charles’ hand. _It’s okay,_ the motion seemed to say. _We’re gonna be okay._


End file.
